S P E E D

“The universe just has it out for us I guess.”

“Or you guys can’t keep it in your pants.”

“Not when I’ve been unwillingly drafted into World War Mutant.”

“If you’re gonna complain about it so much than just run away.”

For lack of fulfilling his brother’s exact observation, Billy physically recoiled at the sudden presence of way too much light – holy shit.

Mumbling an incantation under his breath, a pair of sunglasses appeared in Billy’s hand a moment later, “–not cool, dude. Not fucking cool.”

“Yeah those glasses aren’t cool. Glad I didn’t have to be the one to tell you that.”

“It doesn’t matter if she meant it or not. I’ve done bad shit. They’ve institutionalized me and sent me to prison and I’ve dealt with it, but the difference is that I didn’t decimate a population. I want to forgive her, Tommy,” Lorna’s tone softened slightly. “She’s my sister, for Christ’s sake. I just know that I can’t turn my back on our kind. If Wanda won’t fix it then we’ll find someone who can. We use Jean or we use Wanda and I don’t want to see my own flesh and blood out there on the line.”

“Okay, first of all you broke the fuck out of that place. You didn’t just deal with the consequences so don’t act all high and mighty.  Second of all when have you ever given a shit about her? I mean honestly. You act like it’s such an affront and our family is so close and wouldn’t dare hurt each other. Where was that when your Dad killed my MUTANT friends and threatened to do the same to me, huh?!” His body began to vibrate violently.

“You’re right, but I wouldn’t pay 20 nugs and a handle for you either.”

“Wow, so you’ve just been leading me on this whole time? I’m in high demand, you’ve really cost me tonight.”

“So the mutants then? Damn.” Lana dropped her head into her hands, hair tangled in her fingers for a moment before she shoved the locks away from her eyes. “I am too. I think. This is where Miles and Kamala and the others are so it feels like I should be too. Plus, I don’t like the idea of this bird. My reality literally crumbled. We don’t need anything that big again.” Why then did it not feel totally true?

“Aaaaaand I’m on the Avengers too, so there’s that.”

“Just get it over. I’d like to end it now in one foul swoop.”

“Nice try, if I have to suffer so do you.”

“Faster!” Tommy shouted as he continued running around the the Avengers compound for what must have been the ten thousandth time this day. “Faster!” He continued as his new and old scorch marks, skid marks, and upturned soil and sod blended with the old. The air around the facility was agitated. Strong winds whirled around the exterior of the entire complex just as Tommy did. 

“Faster!” He shouted once again in emotional agony and frustration as he leaned further into his sprint. His somewhat torn and tattered uniform was being torn to shreds from the amount of G-forces he was subjecting it to.

Tears streamed from his eyes and atomized on the wind as he thought about the fight several hours ago. Hearing the sickening crunch of his allies bones. The wheezes and grunts of their death rattles echoes through his ears as the visage of his Grandfather and his cold uncaring eyes haunted his thoughts every time he so much as blinked. He thought to himself that if only he was faster he could have saved them. If only he were more brutal he could have phased his Magneto’s heart right from his chest before he had the chance to finish his friends, but it was too late. All he could do was cling to the hope that Erik wasn’t lying and that they would at some point come back alive and healthy. He felt like an idiot to believe that. He probably just made that all up and tossed their bodies the moment he had the chance. So instead he would focus on just getting faster and faster and honing his hatred until he was able to unleash it all on his grandfather the next time he saw him.